Women and the Sciences in the 17th and 18th Century

Women's roles were the subject of change in the 16th and 17th century, as they began to actively participate in scientific research and discussions. This change did not happen easily because a great deal of men were still reluctant to acknowledge any sort of equality. Many women proved their ability by earning doctorates like Dorothea Erxleben, who was the first woman granted a German M.D. at the University of Halle. She spoke openly about …

…of medicine and astronomy. There was still much work ahead before it would become remotely acceptable for women to study the higher sciences of medicine and astronomy, but with ideas like that of Marie Meurdrac, progress would come eventually. She stated in the forward to one of her publications, "Minds have no sex, and if the minds of women were cultivated like those of men, they would be equal to the minds of the later."